play sand/fresh water acquarium

Question
Christy help me please. I've worked for almost two days cleaning these two 10 gal. aquariums and rinsing play sand in a bucket and then put into the aquariums. I'm seeing some bubble like white scum forming around the edges of the aquarium. Yesterday is when I initially put the sand in and added the water. It stayed cloudy overnight. I was afraid to use the filter for fear of clogging it (maybe with sand floating around). Now I have one filled again and it is a little more clear and the filter is going. One thing I was concerned about is if there might be some additive in the sand that wouldn't be ok for the fish and do you think this will clear up. I wanted to get it clear before I add conditioner. Am I doing the right thing here. I have lots of interesting shaped rocks that I wanted to build little "tunnels" for the fish to be able to swim through just to keep it interesting and add a couple of small plants and have a natural look that I (of course) will enjoy looking at.
My guppies are currently in a huge vase that holds about 3 gallons of water with a filter attached...Obviously I'm really new at this but I have all the testing and probably more stuff than I need..any help would be appreciated..
Sincerely, Jere

Answer
Hi Jere
When you rinsed the sand in the buckets, did you keep rinsing them till the water was running clear when you dumped it out?  I'm trying to remember back 7 years ago when I first used sand in my tanks....that does sound a bit familiar, the white bubbles.  I let the sand settle for a bit, turned on the filter, then immediately added the fish, and didn't have any problems with the fish.  

Try wiping or scooping out the white scum with a paper towel or large spoon.  As far as I know, there shouldn't be any additives in the sand.  I know a lot of people that have used in, as well as myself.  The main thing you want to make sure it says silica free, and that's mainly so algae doesn't grow, silica's can cause algae problems.  If you still have a bag leftover from the sand, read the ingredients.  

What kind of conditioner are you adding-you mean water conditioner/dechlorinator?  That's fine to go ahead and add.  I would also go ahead and add your decorations too.  That way if you do stir up any more sand, it'll settled.  And, if there's no sand floating around, which it shouldn't be, should've settled by now, go ahead and turn the filter on.  It should clear up soon after that.  

Let me know if you have more problems and good luck!  I'm sure once it's all set up and running, you'll love it!

Christy